Screenwriter William Hasley dies on Runyon Canyon trail

William Hasley, a veteran Hollywood screenwriter and longtime friend of Caitlyn Jenner, died on Saturday, June 6, after collapsing on a hiking trail in Los Angeles’s Runyon Canyon Park. He was 78. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed his identity but has not yet determined a cause of death, stating the investigation is pending.

Emergency crews responded to a report of a hiker in distress off Nichols Canyon Road near Hollywood Boulevard shortly before 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Los Angeles Fire Department deployed a helicopter to lower rescuers to the patient. Medical treatment was administered at the scene, but Hasley was pronounced dead there. Authorities have not indicated any suspicion of foul play.

Hasley built a decades-long career in the entertainment industry as a screenwriter, author, and educator. He wrote for numerous television series, including The Smurfs, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Murder, She Wrote, Highway to Heaven, and The Young Riders. He also developed screenplays and pilots for major studios such as Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox.

He was perhaps best known for his collaboration with Caitlyn Jenner, having...